"The world has lost an icon. The country has lost a legend. His family has lost a loved one. And I have lost a very special friend."
- Gene Cernan

Captain Gene Cernan, right, pats Shane DiGiovanna on the back as he is introduced, Friday, Aug. 31, 2012, during a news conference at Children's Hospital in Cincinnati. DiGiovanna, who has a rare connective disease, is a patient at the hospital. Cernan and astronaut Jim Lovell were launching the Neil Armstrong New Frontiers Initiative, a children's health fund in memory of Armstrong being put in place at the hospital. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)

It was May 22, 1969 when Gene Cernan, Tom Stafford and John Young made history on Apollo 10.
While Young orbited in the Command Module ("Charlie Brown"), Cernan and Stafford
flew the Lunar Module ("Snoopy") to within 50,000 feet of the moon's surface.
Read more.The very successful mission prepared the way for America's first moon landing on July 20, 1969.

Apollo 10 made history and captured the world's imagination. To commemorate the 40th anniversay of the mission the Charles M Schulz museum created the exhibit "To the Moon". It takes a looks at the history of the mission, the Peanuts characters' role in that flight and in the
NASA Manned Flight Awareness safety program. It also features a one-third scale model of the Apollo command module from the Johnson Space Center, an Apollo-era flight suit, the actual image of Charlie Brown that flew aboard Apollo 10, and a special children's area for creative play. Capt. Cernan
and Gen. Stafford were on hand at the Museum for the inauguration of the special
exhibition which was once on display at the San Diego Air & Space Museum. For more info on
where the exhibition is now touring,
click here.

Captain Eugene A. Cernan holds the distinction of being the last man to leave his footprints on the moon. He now speaks about his experiences at selected events around the world. During 20 years as a Naval Aviator, including 13 years with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Captain Cernan left his mark on history with three historic missions in space as the Pilot of Gemini IX, the Lunar Module Pilot of Apollo X, and the Commander of Apollo XVII. He was also the second American to walk in space.
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"Space and aviation have been sources of inspiration and romance for more
than 100 years. The U.S. desperately needs to do something to recapture the
pioneering spirit that allowed it go to the Moon. America must find a way to
instill in its children the desire to launch expeditions into the unknown--to
breach what today seems impractical or even impossible. If I can call the Moon
my home long before today's generation of young adults were even born, then I
challenge them and their children to tell me what in their lifetime is
impossible."